Giancarlo Esposito is everywhere these days. To you, he might be the terrifyingly stoic meth and chicken lord Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Or maybe he’s the Imperial revanchist Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, former Vought International CEO Stan Edgar in The Boys, or even authoritarian dictator Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6.
But after a stretch of playing franchise villains, Esposito may be trying to diversify his career with a character who’s less antagonistic but just as iconic.
In a TikTok posted by countdowncitygeeks showing Esposito speaking at the Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio, the actor acknowledges his desire to work for Marvel and says he’s met with their creatives about possibly taking on a role.
Esposito is quick to acknowledge his penchant for playing antagonists. He mentions Magneto, Mr. Freeze, and Doctor Doom as possible roles, but when pressed to focus on one role in particular he throws a curveball by saying, “I'm gonna go for something that's a little bit different. I'm gonna go and put it out in the universe... Professor X.”
This may seem like a strange way for an actor to vie for a role, but in Disney franchises fan fervor and public declarations of interest are a great way to secure a gig. In the Star Wars galaxy, actress Rosario Dawson tweeted in support of a fancast suggesting she was the perfect person to bring Clone Wars protagonist Ahsoka Tano to life. Years later, she did just that in The Mandalorian, and now her own show, Ahsoka, launches soon.
Then, in a truly unprecedented level of fancasting, Marvel fans practically manifested The Office star John Krasinski into the role of Reed Richards. The actor had to constantly deny any involvement in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but when the movie was released he appeared as a multiversal Mr. Fantastic. Sure, he was destroyed moments later, and it’s unlikely he’ll appear in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, but it was still a win for fans.
Now Giancarlo Esposito is apparently trying to reverse engineer the process. By suggesting that he’d love to play Professor X, he’s given fans of his work the motivation they need to create mockup posters and advocate for the casting decision. Maybe he was just spitballing after being put on the spot, but it’s still an interesting proposition, and some fans will likely run with the possibility.
So will Esposito get his wish for a crack at the role Patrick Stewart has owned for decades? The actor has a veritable Infinity Gauntlet of fans from different franchises at his disposal, and if they make a big enough hubbub, Marvel’s team may have no choice but to pay attention.
